*TW- if you have a history of eating disorders/disordered eating or find diet talk and reading others experiences to be triggering, stop here.

For those of you who are not familiar with Diet Culture, Intuitive Eating, Health At Every Size and Anti-Diet, I thought I would dedicate a few blog posts to discuss these terms and the movement that goes along with them. As with any paradigm shift, there are some amazing professionals and pioneers involved in this movement that have created some great resources that I will provide at the end. Individuals who really got my gears turning when I first learned of Diet Culture. My hope is that you get an idea of what I’m talking about when I mention these words on my social media or in session and ideally spark an interest to investigate and learn more for yourself.

This is the time of year where Diet Culture THRIVES! It finds life feeding on the insecurities of “indulgent” eating during the holidays, the idea that we need to “cleanse” our body of the “toxic” foods consumed, the old saying “New Year, New You,” often meaning let’s lose weight because we aren’t good enough the way we are. January hits and diet culture is stocked up on new products and diets, headlines of said celebrity losing “X” pounds doing this one simple thing and are barely recognizable, or whatever. It’s not even the end of the month and I’ve already had my fair share of eye roll moments.

Diet culture is ready and eager to take away your time, money and energy. Maybe it’s time we consider using that time, energy and money towards something different like enjoying a new restaurant with friends and family, starting a new hobby, taking a class, or crossing something off that ever-growing bucket list, literally anything that isn’t focused on shrinking bodies.

So what is Diet Culture? I often get a deer in the headlights look when I start talking about diet culture. When this idea was first brought to my attention, I felt like I had been slapped in the face. The initial shock was like “Holy cow, this is a real thing, this is a shared experience, and how am I just learning about this?” I was the deer in the headlights.

PS. these shows are riddled with diet culture, but i still love them.

Toxic, obsessive conversations and thoughts (I didn’t realize this at the time) started swirling in my brain. I was suddenly reminded of past experiences that had negatively affected my physical and mental well-being and often directed the choices I made in regard to food and my body.

I never knew there was a label for it, I assumed it was a normal thought pattern and a part of life.

It doesn’t have to be and it shouldn’t be. Being entangled in the world of diet culture is an exhausting way to live, it sucks up your life force, takes time away from more important things and it creates a world of fear and distrust in ourselves.

Diet Culture is broad and expansive and doesn’t just apply to those currently following a diet/s. Even if you aren’t following a diet, you may be more wrapped up in diet culture and the diet mentality than you realize. Christy Harrison, MS, RDN, defines diet cultures as a system of beliefs that:

Worships thinness and that it equals health and moral virtue- why you might think that you aren’t good enough because you cannot attain/maintain this standard.
Promotes weight loss as a mean to attain higher status- we’ll do whatever/try anything that is being sold to us to shrink our body, even though the research shows that intentional weight loss is not sustainable for more than a few years.
Demonizes certain ways of eating, while idolizing others, causing people to be obsessed with their food, feelings of shame for eating certain kinds of food, and causes us to lose our power, pleasure and purpose- whether around food or other areas in life.
Oppresses those who don’t match up to this ideal picture of “health,” which is damaging to both the mental and physical health of women, trans folk, larger bodied people, people of color, with disabilities (1).

It sneaks into our lives in ways isn’t always crystal clear or intentional. Here are some examples:

Fad diets like the the celery juice craze, Keto, Intermittent Fasting, Paleo
Weight Watchers rebranding to WW
Detoxes and Tummy teas endorsed by your favorite reality celeb
Anyone telling you that you need to lose weight (BMI focused) without knowing anything about you or your medical history
Jillian Michaels fat-shaming Lizzo out of concerns for her “health”- don’t come for our girl
Labeling foods “good” or “bad” or “clean” or “toxic”
And on and on and on and on. If it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck, it’s probably…..

Diet Culture is part of an industry that thrives on its customers feeling like they aren’t enough, or doing enough- that we could always be smaller, healthier, “better.” It can affect each individual differently and in a myriad of ways, what one persons manifests as diet culture, may not be the same experience for someone else.

No diet or related products will help anyone feel better or happier, in the long run.

Sure, they may bring brief moments of happiness when stepping on the scale or when someone compliments your body. However, these brief periods of bliss are often overshadowed by feelings of guilt, failure, shame and judgment when we feel liked we’ve “failed” or “cheated.”

External validation and self-worth centered around looks and body does not set anyone up for long term happiness because guess what?

Bodies change with time and under various circumstances, which isn’t always under our control.

And that’s the gimmick. Diet Culture, the products & the companies, thrive on people never being satisfied with themselves and continuing the cycle of feeling good, but then back not feeling good enough. We’re set up to believe that we have to continue chasing weight loss for “health” purposes so off we go to try the next product or hop back on the diet train in order become more “ideal,” “deserving” or “good.”

Once I opened my eyes to the world of diet culture, I recognize it so much more. I still have WTF Holy Sh*t moments on a regular basis. Discovering diet culture lead me to reflect on my past and made me realize that most of my prior thoughts and beliefs about food, exercise, health and wellness were all distortions perpetuated by diet culture.

My personal experience lead me to where I am, but hearing and sharing experiences with other women is what really fueled me to practice Intuitive Eating and align with the values of Health At Every Size. I will cover these topics individually in later posts since trying to wrap all of them into one post could get a little lengthy and overwhelming!

The Anti-Diet Movement is a counter approach to Diet Culture. It is about reducing the presence of weight stigma (the discrimination, exclusion, and stereotyping based on someone’s weight - often causing negative physical and psychological outcomes) and the fear of fatness, providing respect and equal care to people in all bodies, creating an atmosphere that is free of judgment or shame or moral high grounds when it comes to food, and empowering others to learn and trust what to do that is best for their bodies.

In my practice, I do not use weight as a goal or measure of success, often times weight isn’t even discussed unless absolutely necessary. Sure, it might come up in terms of fears we might have or while sharing experiences, but will never be a focal point of a session. There are so many valuable indicators of health that have nothing to do with weight (weight isn’t actually great marker of health). It’s more more helpful for people to work on having increased energy, reducing PMS cramps, having a regular menstrual cycle, reducing symptoms of acid reflux or digestive discomfort, deleting your food tracking app- these are huge victories in my practice!

If you feel like you have fell victim to Diet Culture, you aren’t alone. I’m here to help support you through one on one nutrition counseling.

It IS possible to heal your relationship with food, discover what health means to you all while eating the foods you love without shame or being on a diet.

If you aren’t quite ready for that, I invite you to learn more: ask questions, grow your community- maybe it’s in person or online. Below are a handful of excellent resources to help you do so. Enjoy :)